Tuesday, October 14, 2014

As the awesome Lake Anne redevelopment plan begins to wend its way through the county approval process, the developers have put together a slick new brochure of architectural renderings. And Lake Anne folks, sit down: YOU'RE GETTING A MEW:

Apparently a mew is "a cage or building for trained hawks, especially while they are molting." But mews are "a row or street of houses or apartments that have been converted from stables or built to look like former stables" or "a group of stables, typically with rooms above, built around a yard or along an alley." Since these townhouses will be converted from subsidized housing, not genteel horse stables or a rookery, we can see why the developers went to the Olde English for their description.

Speaking of which, we get our first glimpse of the subsidized units that will be part of the development as part of the county-brokered deal that eliminates the existing Crescent Apartments.

Not bad, actually, though they appear to have the only surface parking in the entire development. Guess they don't want the poors to park their dented imports next to the BMWsFord Foci. And here's what the non-affordable midrise will look like:

Then there's the "active adult" building that makes up the other half of a circle with the subsidized housing. It looks... pretty big.

But these circular buildings will be bisected by a nice-looking "central park."

Our BFFs at Reston 2020 point out that "the plan appears generally devoid of recreational facilities, which is not satisfactory."

Along North Shore, these apparently mewless townhouses look pretty nice:

Closer to the existing Plaza, we get to see what the mixed-use space that will fill the current parking lot will look like:

This is really nice, particularly in the way it mirrors the existing commercial plaza, with the notable exception of the child-free children's fountain. Thoughtfully, the developers point out the Farmer's Market will have space within the open pedestrian space:

Of course, we love the little details of these renderings, and we couldn't help but notice a recurrent theme in the little CGI people that were added on to give the renderings "warmth," as those of us who are not architects like to say:

GEEZ GUYS GET A ROOM WILL YOU. Here's hoping a hotel is part of the development's mixed-use amenities.

The redevelopment proposal goes before the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee on October 20, followed by the DRB the next day. Then the Fairfax County Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for December 10, followed by the county Board of Supervisors on Jan. 13. While it isn't perfect, the development is clearly Reston-like in a lot of good ways. Here's hoping it stays that way as it wends its way through the approval process and the subsequent construction.